Time-lock



(No Model.) 1

E. B. WOODWARD TIME LOOK.

Tu: NORRIS PETERS m PHOTD-L|T|10., WASHINGTON, D. c

Patented Apr. 25, 1393- J? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EARL B. VVOODWARD, OF MORRIS, MINNESOTA.

TIM E-LOC K.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,241, dated April25, 1893.

Application filed July 7, 1892. Serial No. 439,215. (No model.)

To 61% whom it may concern.- I

Be it known that I, EARL B. WooDwARn, of Morris, in the county ofStevens and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Time-Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements intime-locks for safes and it has for its object, primarily, the production of cheap, simple and highly efficient mechanism for looking asafe and preventing the opening thereof save at a stated time.

A further object is to provide a safe having double time-clock mechanismwith an additional or auxiliary reserve clock which is used to effectthe opening or releasing of. the holding mechanism only in the eventthat the double clocks'fail in their operation.

A further object is to provide a time-lock for use with jewelers andother steel-lined fire-proof safes and capable of being readily andeasily applied to safes now in use by any watch-maker, no specialfitting of the safe being required.

of said clock gearings, and a movable bar operated by said Wheel anddesigned to raise said lever for releasing the locking plate. 7

The invention further comprises a timelock having two trains ofclock-gearing, a weighted lever operating a plate which engages thelocking bolt, a spring pressed rod and mechanism for holding andreleasing said rod in the event that either of said clock gearingsshould run down, thereby-causing said rod to operate said weighted leverand release the slide.

The invention further comprises a timelock having two trains ofclock-gearing for operating the locking plate, an auxiliary rod, and anauxiliary clock-gearing for'operating said rod in the event that both ofsaid trains of clock-gearing fail in their operation.

The invention also comprises the detail, construction, combination andarrangement of parts, substantially as hereinafter fully set forth andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

' In the accompanying drawings:-Figure 1 is a front elevation of myimproved timelock shown applied to a safe door, a portion of which isbroken away. Fig. 2 is a similar view with one of the clock-dials andhands removed, and showing the position occupied by the parts when oneof the clock-gearings has run down. Fig. 3 shows in detail one of thewheels that permits the clock-gearing to continue independently of theother.

- Referring to the drawings, A designates a safe-door, and a a slidingbolt thereof having a groove or recess a cut in its underside andextending inwardly a short distance.

To the adjacent side-wall a of door A is a movable locking plate a heldby a screw a extended through a slot therein. corresponds in thicknesswith the groove or recess in the bolt and when inserted therein holdsthe latter firm in place.

B designates a box or casing in which I preferably locate theclock-gearing and adjuncts, said box or casing being held by screwsprojecting through the side wall a? of door A.

Upon a stud b projecting from the upper end ofthe rear-wall b of box Bis fulcrumed a lever O, which at its outer end has a weight This plate band at its other end a roller 17 which is continuously in engagementwith the lower Within box or case B between the rear wall b thereof andan innerwall b are located the series of wheels composing the upper andlower clock-gearings D, D, each having its own dial and hands, thelatter of both gearings moving in the same direction.

About midway between the dials of the two trains of gearing is agear-wheel E, mounted on an arbor e supported by walls b, b. This wheelrevolves once every twenty-four hours, and has on its periphery a doubleset of dial ICO indices 6. A pointer 6 attached to wall 1) projects overthe rim of this wheel and enables the latter to be set at the properhour to correspond with the exact time of day. Upon the same arbor e isa cam e against the periphery of which bears a roller f of a bar F heldto wall, I)" by screws inserted through slots f. This bar when raised bysaid cam will strike against the weighted lever C adjacent to itsfulcrum and effect the raising of its weighted end. This cam isremovable and cams of different shape can be substituted according tothe time it is desired should elapse between the locking and unlockingof the safe. The gear-wheel E intermeshes with twogear-wheels 9 both ofwhich are on the same arbors with the hour wheels G of theclockgearings. Each of these hour wheels has a ratcheted hub g withwhich engage spring pressed pawls or clicks g attached to the inner faceof the gear-wheels g. The object of thus connecting the hour-wheels Gand gearwheels g is that in the event of one train of gearing stoppingthe other can continue to revolve wheel E uninterrupted. The advantageof employing two pawls or clicks is that should one break the other willpreserve the integrity of the mechanism. Thus it will be seen thataccording to the hour at which the cam on wheel E is set for, theworking of the elock-gearings will effect the gradual elevation of thesliding bar F as the appointed hour approaches, said bar eitecting thecomplete elevation of the weighted end of said lever and lowering of thelocking plate by the hour set.

ll designates a spring-pressed rod located in a barrel 71. and having acoil spring 7L bearing against its lower end. The object of this rod isto eitect the instantaneous elevation of the weighted lever and loweringof locking plate in the event that either clock-gearing should run down,as might occur where through oversightthe gearing has not been wound.This rod is normally held retracted by the hooked end of a lever 71fitting in a groove or recess Zr thereof, a spring h serving to holdsaid lever in place. A roller Win the upper end of said lever rests upona lug or lip h of a sliding bar 7L7 held by screws 7L8 passed throughslots h, From this bar projects upper and lower pins h On the projectingends of the arbors i of the main springs I are wheels or disks 1', eachof which is provided with a projecting tooth 2' and two adjacentshoulders i The tooth of each wheel is designed to fit into grooves orrecesses t of a star-like wheel loosely mounted on a screw or stud 2'proj ecting from wall I). Each of these wheels 1' carries a pin 2' whichpins are designed to come in contact with the pins h of sliding bar 7L7as the main spring of either one of the clocks runs down and thus raisesaid sliding bar, which will effect the tripping of lever 71, and permitrod II to fly upward under the action of its coil spring and effectingthe raising of the weighted end of the lever O and the lowering of thelocking plate. Thus it will be seen I provide against any possibledanger of failure of the clock-mechanism to lower the locking plate andrather than depend on one clock mechanism it is far better to remove thelocking plate in the event of either clock running down. Thetoothedwheels on the arbors of the main-springs will revolve four timesto the single revolution of the star-wheels and hence the latter willnot effect the tripping of the lever holding the auxiliary rod until theclock mechanism has about run down or the spring entirely unwound.

To further provide against any possible accident consequent upon theaccidental stopping of both clocks and the failure of either of thelever-operating rods to work I provide a third or auxiliaryclock-mechanism J, which is shown as located between walls I) and b toone side of the auxiliary rod 72. The wheels comprising this train ofgearing are shown in dotted lines.

Upon the arbor J of the hour-wheel is a short handy", which normallyoccupies a position to the right of the flanged endj of a sliding barj',which latter is held by screws 3' passed through slots in said bar. Theouter end of this barj is designed to engage a pin 3' projecting fromthe lower end of trip-lever 79.

K is a weighted lever fnlcrumed at 7.; and having its lower end inengagement with the balance wheel The weighted end of this levernormally occupies a position a little to the right of the perpendicularline and holds the mechanism stationary. In the event that the twomain-clocks should fail to eltect the unlocking of the locking plate,the safe is tilted to one side to a slight extent suflicient to causetheweighted lever K to swing on its pivot and release its lower end fromengagement with the balance wheel and thus permit the auxiliary clockmechanism to work. The short hand j then begins to travel around andstrikes against the end of sliding-bar 7' which will move said bar andeffeet the tripping of lever 7L2, permit-ting auxiliary rod h to flyupward and raise the weighted end of the lever and thus remove thelocking plate and permit of the opening of the safe.

The advantages of myinvention are apparent to those skilled in the artto which it appertains and it will be specially observed that I haveprovided simple and efficient mechanism, first, for automaticallyelfecting the unlocking of the locking-plate at a pre-determined time,second, to effect the automatic unlocking of such plate in the eventthat either one of the main clocksshould rundown and, third, to enablethe operating of said locking plate should both of said main clocks failin their operation or cease to work. Thus it will be seen that I haveproduced simple and liighly efficient mechanism for accomplishing theseresults and providing against all possible contingencies. i

I claim as my invention 1. The herein-described improved time-lock forsafes, comprising a lever and a locking plate operated thereby, clock'mechanism, a main gear-wheel located between and operated by both ofsaid clock mechanism, a cam carried by said main gear-wheel, and asliding bar in engagement at one end with said.

cam-wheel, its other end being designed to engage said lever at one sideof its fulcrum, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described improved time-lock for safes, comprising aweighted lever and a locking plate operated thereby, two trains of clockgearing having each a loose wheel free to move independent of saidclock-gearing, a main gear-wheel located between said clockmechanism andengaged by said loose wheels, a cam carried by said gear-wheel, and asliding bar in engagement at one end with said cam-wheel and designed toengage and operate said lever, substantially as set forth.

3. The herein-described improved time-lock for safes, comprisingaweighted lever and a locking plate operated thereby, clock gearing, anauxiliary spring pressed bar, and .trip mechanism between said bar andclock gearing, whereby as the latter runs down said bar will beoperated, substantially as set forth.

4. The herein-described improved time lock for safes, comprising aweighted lever and locking plate operated thereby, two main clockgearings, a sliding bar designed to be operated thereby, an auxiliaryspring-pressed bar, an auxiliary clock gearing, and trip mechanismbetween the latter and said bar, said auxiliary clock gearing beingdesigned to operate in the event of failure of either of the saidclock-gearings to operate said weighted lever, substantially as setforth. I

5. The combination with the lever and the locking plate operatedthereby, of the clock gearings, the main gear-Wheel operated thereby andcarrying a removable cam, and the sliding bar having a roller in itslower end in engagement with said cam, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with the lever and the locking plate operatedthereby, of the two clock-gearings having their hour wheels providedwith ratcheted hubs, the gear-wheels on the arbors of said hour-wheelsand having spring-pressed pawls or clicks in engagement with saidratcheted hubs, the main gear wheel operated by said loose wheels, thecam carried by said main gear-wheel,and the sliding bar having its lowerend in engagement'with said cam and designed to bear against said lever,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the lever and the locking plate operatedthereby, ot' the two .locking plate operated thereby, of the twoclock-gearings having the arbors of their main springs provided withwheels or disks having each a tooth projecting therefrom, star-wheelsadjacent to said former-wheels or disks carrying each a pin orprojection, a sliding bar having pins or projections designed to beengaged by said pins of said star-wheels, the auxiliary spring-pressedrod having a groove or recess, the trip lever having one end inengagement with said groove or recess, its other end being in engagementwith said sliding bar, and the spring bearing against said triplever,substantially as set forth.

9.- The combination with the lever, and the locking plate operatedthereby, of the springpressed rod, the trip lever in engagementtherewith, the auxiliary clock-gearing normally held stationary, wherebysaid auxiliary clockgearing is only free to operate when the safe istilted, and the movable connection with said trip-lever designed to beoperated by the hour hand of said auxiliary clock gearing, substantiallyas set forth.

10. The combination with the lever and the locking plate operatedthereby, of the spring pressed rod having a groove or recess, the triplever having a hooked end in engagement with said groove or recess, thesliding bar designed to engage said trip-lever, the auxiliary clockgearing having an hour-hand designed to come in contact with saidsliding bar, and the weighted lever normally in engagement with thebalance wheel of said auxiliary clock-gearing, substantially as setforth.

11. The herein-described improved timelock for safes, comprising thelocking plate for engaging one of the locking bolts, the Weighted leverhaving a roller in one end in engagement with said locking plate, thetwo main clock-gearings having each a loose wheel moved by thehour-wheel thereof, the main gear-wheel, the cam on the arbor thereof,the sliding bar having a roller in its lower end in contact with saidcam, the wheels or disks on the arbors of said clock-gearings havingeach a tooth, the star-wheels having each a pin and engaged by saidteeth, the sliding bar having pins designed to 'be engaged by saidformer pins, the spring-pressed trip-leverhaving one end in engagementwith said sliding bar, the auxiliary spring-pressedrod normally helddepressed by said trip-lever, the sliding bar designed to engage saidtrip 1ever, the auxiliary clock-gearing having an hour hand designed tomove said sliding bar, and the weighted lever normally holding saidauxiliary clock-gearing stationary, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence oftwo subscribing Witnesses.

EARL B. WOODWARD.

WVitnesses:

HoLMEs E. OFFLEY, WM. S. HODGES.

